Rubio at the Pnyx: The West Should Stop Apologizing for Being Great
Speaking beneath the Acropolis, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Europe to "awaken from its long slumber" and said America has chosen "the unapologetic pursuit of national power." In our view, the history had flaws, but the message was right.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 9, 2026 | 6-min read Too often, in our view, Western leaders have sounded embarrassed by the civilization they lead. On Wednesday, the American secretary of state stood on the hill where ancient Athenians held their democratic assembly, with the Parthenon behind him, and did the opposite. "Here, in Athens, we found the first full realization of all the essential traits that would come to define the West," Marco Rubio said at the Pnyx, naming "fierce individuality and relentless ambition" and "a yearning for discovery, for adventure, risk and glory" [1]. In our view, it was the most confident defense of Western civilization by an American official in years, and Europe should take it as an invitation, not a lecture. Key Takeaways Rubio said the West stands at a crossroads, and that the coming decade will decide "whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy and servitude and decline" [1]. "Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice," he said. "We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power" [1][3]. He paired that with a call for unity: strained bonds between the U.S. and